Marinatto Quits Amid Big East Instability

When Big East Commissioner John Marinatto resigned Monday, the battered league was left at another crossroads. It could either crumble or find itself a billion-dollar television deal in September.

The Big East, scheduled to have 13 Football Bowl Subdivision programs and 18 basketball universities, now has a gypsy’s soul, with Kardashian commitment issues and a future so unstable that its pool of candidates will not be filled with polished clones like Pacific-12 Commissioner Larry Scott.

Marinatto’s departure comes after less than three years, a period defined by the exits of Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virginia — and Texas Christian, which left for the Big 12 before ever playing a game. Marinatto was overwhelmed and exasperated by the tumult, and the difficulty of the job may be appreciated only by the next brave soul who signs up.

The former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese called it a “sad day.”